'It's too long': Bok boss cancels break time
SPOTLIGHT: Rassie Erasmus admitted that this week’s training camp was not originally part of their schedule leading into the Rugby Championship.
The Boks will start their campaign at home with back-to-back Tests against Australia in Johannesburg (August 16) and Cape Town (August 23)
Joe Schmidt’s Wallabies still have one match left in their series against the British and Irish Lions this coming Saturday, while Boks’ last outing was the 55-10 win over Georgia on July 19.’
The Springboks gathered in Johannesburg on Sunday and Erasmus revealed that he was itching to get started.
The story continues below…
“We initially didn’t have this week in as a camp,” the Bok coach revealed during a press conference on Tuesday.
“We were going to give the guys two weeks off before we go full on into the Rugby Championship [preparation], but it’s a bit too long.
“This week has given us time to go through every single facet of our game and just to be 100 percent aligned between players and coaches, so that all the players know exactly what we expect from them.
“It involves a lot of conditioning as well.
“It’s also about where we want to take our game in the next couple of weeks before we play some really good countries.
“Tony [Brown], Jerry [Flannery] and Paddy [Sullivan] are still abroad. They will be joining us on Sunday before we fully concentrate on Australia.”
The story continues below…
Rassie was asked if his team’s performances had anything to do with the extra week of preparation.
The Boks beat the Barbarians 54-7 in June before winning Tests against Italy (42-24 and 45-0) and Georgia (55-10) in July.
“I don’t think one is ever 100 percent satisfied,” said Erasmus.
“If you look at the scoreboard [since the Barbarians match], it’s something like 200 points for and 40 against us, overall. You would probably say that is not too bad.
“I think we always knew having a big squad in the beginning would be tough.
“We really ramped things up in the training sessions in terms of intensity, and we felt that the whole squad, out of 45-plus, did well there.
“However, we’ve never worked with such a big squad. The positives were that we would get depth in positions, but you do lose a bit of one-on-one attention with individuals and small details because you have to rotate.
“Now it’s a smaller group, and we just felt that we needed this week to make sure that these 37 guys in camp are 100 percent where we want them to be.”
Erasmus added: “The positive part of a big squad is that everyone knows our structures and when we call on them for the All Black games, those guys can slot in easily.”
@rugby365com
The #Springboks are back in camp 👊#ForeverGreenForeverGold pic.twitter.com/29piJ35e2n
— Springboks (@Springboks) July 28, 2025
